Meditation or relaxation states counter the pathologic effects of stress on the body and the mind, and relaxation techniques and meditation have become complementary treatment modalities used in the therapy of many illnesses. Learning how to relax physically requires that a person become more aware of how his or her body feels. Most people are not well grounded in the physical (they do not derive their awareness from all aspects of themselves, including their bodies) and therefore, they do not feel their bodies very well. They generally become more aware of their physical bodies only when they experience discomfort or pain or when they have a physical illness. When they are not in distress their focus is generally external to themselves, perceiving the outer world almost exclusively with their physical senses, most notably with their eyes and ears. This is why people are generally not very body-centered and why more subtle bodily sensations tend to be ignored.
In a state of reduced bodily awareness, it is difficult to perceive the degree to which one is physically relaxed. Therefore, to become more physically relaxed, one must develop a greater appreciation of how his or her body feels. Greater intensity of stimulation causes greater neuronal recruitment along the neurologic pathways and at the neo-cortex of the brain, enabling greater perception. This is especially important for those areas of the body that have less dense neuronal supply, such as the back of the torso.
Just as music that is heard stimulates the auditory cortex directly, music that is felt directly by the person's body stimulates the much larger somatosensory cortex, thereby simultaneously impacting more of the brain's primary sensory cortex.
Sound therapy is a procedure which may be used to promote relaxation or meditation. Practitioners of sound therapy play pre-recorded music, instruments and/or create music and sound vocally for patients, or have the patients participate directly by playing instruments, singing, humming, toning or chanting. When patients sing, hum, tone or chant, they expose their bodies more directly to the sound waves since the body itself is generating the various frequencies or sound waves internally. Many people, however, are unwilling or unable to create sounds for themselves and must rely on sound sources external to their bodies.
Consequently, there is a need for a device and method for transmitting sound and vibrations to a user to promote relaxation, meditation, and healing.